Doctor, Doctor!
by TeaDracula
Summary: Illness runs rampant throughout the city, a plague is taking lives left and right as a whole city falls to their knees in front of one man, Doctor Julian Devorak. One a dark evening, long after midnight, a knock at the doctor's door catches him off guard as a man stands with his sick daughter in his arms begging Julian for help. How can you love someone so ill and destined to die?
1. Chapter 1 - Doctor, Doctor!

_{Events take place years before start of 'The Arcana'}  
Cover art by antivancorvo_

A cloaked man rushed through the darkened streets of the city, a thin figure in his arms as both black and white fabrics flowed in the wind of the night, only lamps that hung from shop doors lighting his way as he moved swiftly throughout the catacomb like passages. The figure he held, a young woman with her head back as long brown hair blew in the wind, only a thin white gown covering her frail and sickly body – utterly unconscious as blood ran down her face from the side of her mouth to the fear and dismay of the man whom carried her, her father. Dove Knight, 18, plague victim – it was like any other sob story of those whom contracted the disease, but it still came to a massive shock to the family as they lived far from the city center, only entering to deliver livestock or sell goods, wearing secure face masks as they did so, but still, it would seem their efforts to stop themselves from falling ill was futile. In denial, her family ignored the telltale sign of the whites of her eyes going red and they continued to ignore her becoming weaker and weaker until they could no more. As the evening of this day fell, she was rendered unconscious by her illness and not long after blood began to drain from her body through her nose, mouth and ears – her father took no time as to lift her and run to the city in search of one man, Doctor Julian Devorak. Usually, most victims would be taken to a large house where they were all kept in one room before being shipped to an island – it was practically a sentence to death, and Dove's father, Misha, couldn't bear the thought of his daughter being taken somewhere only to die, so he looked for not the plague house, but the doctor himself.

Approaching a large wooden door, Misha took no time in knocking harshly as he held his daughter in his arms. It took about a minute, but before long the door swung open, the doctor standing in the door way with his arms folded. The doctor looked into the eyes of the man first, raising a brow before suddenly noticing Dove in his arms and he immediately reached into his jacket and brought out a cloth, covering his nose and mouth with it clearly recognizing a plague victim.

"All victims should be taken to the plague house, doors open at 5am, I do not take personal patients." Julian said in a strong but muffled tone as he quickly began to push the door shut just before Misha wedged his foot in the doorframe.

"How much?" He suddenly said in a desperate tone, his eyes wide as Julian looked at him with wide eyes, noticing the extreme panic within the man.

"Pardon me?" Julian replied as he squinted at the man curiously as if he believed he heard him wrong.

"How much must I pay you to take my daughter right now? Please, I-"

"I have told everyone that I do not take any personal patients, no amount of money can persuade me otherwise. Now please, if you go down the street, take a left and keep walking you will find the plague house where she can be looked after well enough now excuse me." Julian attempted to push the door shut again only to feel it being slammed completely open, the sheer strength of the man outside astounding him, not to mention he was holding someone at the time, this whole event making him gasp and step back, his hand to his heart in shock.

"Doctor Julian," Misha began in a frighteningly stern tone. "I refuse to see my daughter shipped off to die on an island like sick cattle. I will give you all the money I have if you care for her, everything! Please Doctor, you're my only hope, she's my only child." The tone of the shouting man slowly became less and less as his sentences went on, his voice slowly becoming defeated as tears pooled in his darkened eyes, tears streaming down his face as he held his sickly daughter. Julian wasn't sure what it was – the proposition of wealth or the terrified look on the man's face that swayed him to change his mind, but even so, he stood aside as Misha looked to him for what seemed to be approval, Julian giving a light nod as the man passed him by. The home was small, most things fitting into the one room. Red mesh fell from every corner, giving the false illusions of walls to cut off parts of the home like a small bedroom. Book shelves were stacked high as a fire roared underneath a pot near the corner, parchments with mad scribblings everywhere, seemingly just thrown aside. Julian quickly followed Misha as he moved through his home, the dark room only lit by a single lantern propped up on a table, and without a second thought Julian swiped all the papers, likely doctor's notes, from the table, pointing down to it as Misha set Dove down gently, her hair hanging off the back of the table. Julian very quickly swapped the cloth of his mouth for a plague doctors mask making Misha step back at the shocking appearance as red glass panels stared at him for what was meant to be eyes.

"Step aside, and please find something to cover your nose and mouth unless you wish to be ill too, but I assume you likely already are infected," Julian uttered in a low tone as he swiftly removed a glove, pressing two fingers against the side of Dove's neck then simply bringing his ear to her chest. "She's alive, I'm unsure of how but she's alive. I can take over from here. You should go home and rest yourself, but first," He quickly put his glove back on as he moved over to the bubbling pot over the flame, grasping a bottle from atop a nearby mantle and filling the glass with a purple tinted liquid. "I am unsure of how well this will work, but please feed this to yourself and the rest of your family to perhaps stop the infection from spreading in case your daughter has infected you all. I cannot assure your health, but this is all I can do for those whom has not fallen ill quite yet." He said as he slowly handed the glass bottle to Misha, who quickly put it into a bag over his shoulder as it was too hot to hold before he quickly grasped the doctor's hands into his.

"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you very much. I shall bring you your payment before the week ends, I promise." Misha said in a thankful tone, tears now visibly streaming down his face as Julian stared in almost disbelief, it wasn't often he got such genuine thanks for his work, but ever still, he forced a smile back to the man as he pulled his hands back, not quite used to such Human contact, especially during a plague time, even more so when he was dressed so frighteningly.

"Of course, I shall do what I can for… Pardon me, what is your daughter's name?" He asked as he looked over his shoulder to Dove who lay still unconscious.

"Dove, Dove Knight." Misha said with a confident nod as Julian smiled, turning back to him.

"I shall look after Dove all I can, now please, hurry home – you'll catch a death in this cold, so please," He ushered the man to the door where Misha wiped his tears and offered the doctor a small wave before disappearing into the darkness of the dimly lit streets, Julian shutting the door behind him and then locking it as he slowly turned back around to Dove who lay still. "Mhmn, no wonder you've fallen ill in only a white gown made from… polycotton? My, no wonder you've gotten like this. How does your family expect to pay me when they cannot afford to dress you appropriately?" He asked himself as he moved over to a table top that had a bowl of water, taking a piece of fabric and dipping it in before making his way back to Dove, dabbing the blood from her face as he stared at her through the red glass of his plague mask. She was pale and her face was slim, but strangely enough unlike other victims, her face was very rosy, fiery in places. Her lips were still pink tinted as her joints from what he could see as she was only exposed from the shoulders upwards, her dress hanging from her chest to past her feet. Yet, a thought fazed him, what if it was simply makeup, a farce to look more well than she was as she was clearly very ill. He moved the cloth to a part where there was no blood and swiped the cold fabric across her cheek before turning it over to look at it – not a hint of colour came from her face, it was real.

"Curious. What is your secret to a fake look of wellness, Miss Dove?" He asked in a curious tone just as, as if nearly on cue, Dove's eyes began to gently flutter, Julian retracting his arm and moving back to the water bowl as she slowly opened her eyes, deep brown eyes staring around the home with a misty look in her eyes before Julian came back, fully expecting her to jump or scream at his look, but to his surprise she stayed completely still only blinking lightly at him. This was the first time he'd gotten a relaxed response to his mask, even people who had seen it time and time again still jumped in horror.

"Doctor Julian Devorak," Dove muttered in a very soft-spoken voice making Julian's eyes open wide. "Have I been brought here to die?" She asked as she softly moved her head to look at him more, a mournful expression on her face as he shook his head, moving closer to her as he picked her up from the table and into his arms, holding her close as he moved to the other side of the room, pulling back a curtain to reveal a simple bedroom, blankets on the floor with pillows, and slowly Julian lay Dove down.

"No, you haven't come here to die just yet," He teased before he quickly looked off, maybe this wasn't the best time for his darker humor. "Your father brought you so you may get well in my care." He said as he covered her frail body with another blanket as she was too weak to do it herself. The most he had seen her move was when she switched where her head to lay to look at him.

"Don't victims of this disease go to plague houses to be treated, why am I," She slowly looked around once more using only her eyes. "…What I assume to be your home?" She asked in her soft voice as Julian sighed, the truth sounded harsh when he thought about it, but he knew he wouldn't lie to someone already so ill.

"Your father said he is going to pay me greatly for keeping you here in my personal care, and the payment should be here soon. I believe he forgot that keeping plague victims in the more populated parts of the city was against the law," He said as he slowly stood back up, leaning on the large window frame of the room, looking out onto the streets, no glass dividing him from the night air. "Yet still, money is money and I'm afraid concoctions for medicine isn't cheap in a time like this, I'm sorry, I am aware that your family is poor." He said with a hint of sorrow in his voice before he turned his back to the window, pulling a small red mesh curtain over the opening.

"You should try to sleep now, although I believe due to your condition you have been asleep much more than you would like to be. Tomorrow I am going to start trying to treat you, but I cannot assure your life to you. Goodnight Dove." He said in a strong tone as he pulled the curtain of the room back to step out.

"Doctor Julian, thank you very much." Dove uttered in a soft voice as she smiled at him softly, making him stare for a moment before he regained his posture, giving her but a nod of acceptance and then drawing the thin curtain shut, as just before, Dove fell into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2 - Plague advancements

Julian slowly sat down in a chair next to his fire, watching the flames roar as a silence fell over the house, a change to just a short time ago where a man came to his door raving. He found himself scribbling on parchment as he always did, but this time about the life of a lower peasant of the kingdom. Their income, their spending – he was curious to know how much he would be paid for treating Dove.

"My God," He uttered as he sat back studying his calculations. "They don't earn much, this payment may run them aground…Dove," He spoke to himself as he looked back to the curtain. "I do hope I can get you well." With that thought he stood, placing his writings aside as he began to fill up more bottles with his new purple concoction, ready for them to be sold to families of the ill in the market tomorrow morning. As soon as he was done although, he began to brew yet another medicine, something once again new, something for Dove to be the tester for. He put everything he could think of in. Antiseptics, anti-inflammatories and things to help her sleep as she needed sleep to heal – he just hoped that perhaps it would work. By the end the mixture was a fiery red and he bottled it like the others, only making enough for one bottle in case it didn't work. He tried to keep working, but his attempts were futile, and exhausted, he fell asleep in his chair by the fire, mask still secured to his face.

Dove awoke slowly at what seemed to be dawn as light slowly flooded through the opened window, the red mesh curtain dying the room a light red as she slowly sat up, looking around the room for any sign as to where exactly she was, but as the night before came back to her she sighed in both relief and worry – today she was to start her treatment, and as if on cue, the curtain of the room was pulled back as Julian walked in, still wearing his plague doctor mask.

"Good morning, I'm shocked to see you awake so early," He said in a muffled tone. "Mhmn," He crouched down to Dove's level, placing a gloved finger under her chin to lift her face as he studied her through large glass eyes. "It seems you haven't bled anymore, which is what I hope to be a good sigh, please, drink this," Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a small glass bottle which held a red liquid, taking off the cap and handing it do Dove whom did as he said and drank it down quickly, only to start coughing as he took the bottle back and put it aside. "Be careful, please, you're ill enough." He pleaded with the sickly girl as he patted her back gently, almost frightened to touch her too much as she was already so frail.

"What I have given to you is a medicine that should help stop this disease from attacking your body at the alarming rate it likely already is, but even so, I cannot quite figure out why you still look so healthy physically. Maybe pale, but, there is colour in your face, it's…curious." He found himself drawing a finger down her cheek in curiosity, suddenly realizing what he was doing and retracting, standing as he did so.

"I'm afraid you'll have to now excuse me, that is all the treatment of that form I can afford today for you. I must take my leave and go to the plague house to treat the less fortunate. I will be back before sundown to check on you once more, farewell Dove." If it wasn't for the medicine she had been given she would've thanked him, but it seemed to stop her from talking as the liquid clung to her throat like tar – it was revolting to her, making her almost want to retch.

The Doctor took no time in keeping to his word and before Dove could even notice, the door was slammed shut and he was gone, walking down the streets silently, observing the way of life of the people who were still healthy – they did not understand their privilege. Leaving the bottles of the medicine he had made the night before at a market stall to be sold he then turned his attention to the work day at hand. He took the route he always did to the plague house, the less walked one as he knew that to some the sight of a plague doctor, mostly due to the mask, could disturb the young or those who were just easily spooked, plus, he took this time to think for himself as it was the only time he could, the plague house was too loud to even hear his own thoughts. Screams, coughing, vomiting – everything to make any regular man fall to his knees and cry that he could not handle it, that there was no cure, but Julian wouldn't fall, no matter how many people piled on top of each other in those hell houses.

He pressed his hand to the door of the plague house, a sigh escaping him as he mentally prepared himself for what the day may bring upon him. The building itself was far off from general housing, it was basically a large wooden shed that was falling apart by the sea front – it was a last resort for the ill. As he entered the same terror inducing image struck him, but this time it was worse, there was so much more dead just lying in one of the corners in plain view of the other patients. Julian quickly ran through the rows of bed to get to another doctor who was treating someone at the end, and as he reached him, he quickly grasped the arm of the other doctor.

"What in God's name has happened here merely overnight!?" Julian snapped in a stern tone to the man as he shrugged casually, pulling his arm from Julian's grasp.

"Dunno sir! Came in this morn' and most of our patients were dead! I think the illness is advancing, or someone is startin' to kill off these people." The other doctor answered as he moved through the building once more as people used brooms to roll the bodies down the isles to meet the large stack of corpses in the corner. He thought of what the doctor said, could someone truly be killing off these people even before they got taken to the island? It was a horrific sight, but still, he managed to find himself once more and get to his duties, starting at the first person of a row of beds. He treated person after person all he could, some even passing away in front of his eyes to his dismay. His head fell into his hands, it seemed nearly all hope was lost.

"Is our medicine doing anything?!" A doctor next to him cried out in defeat only to have Julian whip around and grasp him by his shoulders, giving him a firm shake.

"Pull yourself together!" He yelled at him as the man stood frozen in place., clearly somewhat spooked by the head doctor. As Julian lingered for a second, as if awaiting a response, he looked down to see blood escaping the bottom of the other man's mask, making Julian let go and step back.

"My God, you have it too! How could this be?! Did you take off your mask in front of patients?!" He cried out in horror as the man screamed in defeat and fell to his knees in a pool of blood that had gathered at his feet, running all down his white coat. He almost reached out to Julian, his hand only slight raised before being dragged off by other masked doctors, his mask before ripped from his face and thrown aside, the glass eyes shattering on impact. Julian gasped at the sight before him, a fellow doctor dragged by the back of his shirt as his eyes were bleeding, as his nose and mouth – it was something from a horror novel, a nightmare. Would this disaster ever come to an end?

After many more hours of trying to cure those around him, he left the building and began to walk back through the city at dusk, only taking this time to remove his mask – he felt as if he never had it off, he couldn't even take it off in his own home now, plus, he knew he'd have to burn that table he had Dove lay down on. He returned to the stall where he left the medicine, the vendor giving him a small bag of coins before he moved back to his home, pressing his hand against the door as he did so. He sighed, with the advances he had seen at the plague house he could only hope that Dove was still alive. He re-secured his mask and entered his home, his attention immediately being drawn to a handful of gold coins on the table. Had Misha perhaps stopped by to start an early payment? Even so, he walked to the corner of the room and pulled back the curtain to see Dove sitting up with her back against the wall, her giving Julian a weak smile on seeing him. He was relieved.

"I know it's not much, it's all I had on me." She said in her soft voice as Julian's eyes opened wide, the realization of what she really meant hitting him.

"Wait a moment, did you…did you put those coins there?" He asked, knowing he had to hear it himself to hear it.

"Yes, I'm sorry I know it's not much but I-"

"No, no Dove. Are you telling me that you…that you are able to _walk_?" He said in a confused tone as Dove nodded, seemingly not understanding what the problem was. Any victim he had seen at the bleeding stage could hardly even sit up, never-mind walk. This was an entrancing advancement.

"Please, stand, walk. I need you to show me for me to believe you." He said as Dove once again nodded, using her hands against the wall to slowly push herself to her feet to Julian's disbelief. Her long white gown traced the floor gently as she took steps towards him as if a ghost gliding, making him step back in shock, this was something he had never seen before and her gentle expression only made the whole experience more haunting to him. Dove only drew closer and closer to him with every small step she took, but seemingly exhausted once more she abruptly collapsed into Julian's arms.

"Forgive me," She muttered. "I seem to not be as steady as I once was." Her frail arms wrapped around Julian's body as he held her up with his arms around her waist, he took no time in quickly changing his position and lifting her up into his arms again so she wouldn't have to take another step if she was too weak, he imagined that walk to the table and back was enough to take it out of her for one day. Moving back to the main part of the home he sat her down in the chair by the fire, the same one he had fallen asleep in the night before and then pulling up a chair for himself.

He reached up to the mantle just above the fire and took several things into his lap, once again ready to make a new concoction. He wasn't sure if it was wise with a plague victim this close, but for some reason he couldn't understand he wanted to just watch her, observe her – he wanted to capture every minute. Her eyes were shut gently, and Julian couldn't help but feel selfish for making her walk after she clearly had enough for one day, and furthermore, the fire was still well lit – she had done that too, but he knew he had to see it for himself or he never would've believed it even although the proof was right in front of him.

Absentmindedly he began to throw things into the pot, doing his daily routine of making something new to be sold, so much so that he hadn't noticed that Dove was now happily watching him, a small smile on her lips as she watched him throwing things into the pot. He could tell from her expression that she was analyzing his every movement, everything he put in and when he looked down he noticed she was even slowly tapping her fingers against her leg – she was even keeping count.

"Are you watching me for mistakes?" Julian suddenly spoke up, making Dove jump in her seat, tearing her from her deep concentration. She looked to him with a slightly panicked face as if she believed he was angry at her, but from just a moment in looking at the doctor, she lowered her face as her cheeks went red.

"No, I was just… I used to help make mixtures for an old woman in the city before I got ill, she taught me everything she knew and-… I'm sorry, the more awake and alert I am the more I realize how much your mask frightens me." She said in a very honest tone as Julian sat back in his seat, watching her as her head was downwards and her hands were clasped on her lap, a very uptight position. It hadn't fazed him that she might've found him frightening for she always acted so calm, but perhaps it was under the case that she was so ill and didn't always understand what was going on.

"Just imagine the face underneath it, it's the easiest thing to do." Julian replied as he went back to throwing things into his mixture. He waited for a response from Dove for a few moments before he glanced around to her and her position hadn't changed. He realized that if Dove lived outside the city her whole life then maybe she had never seen him without his mask, he understood then why that's so much more frightening, just a faceless mask looking down to you with no idea what the person looks like underneath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you'd never seen me before, and I'm afraid I can't quite show you, especially in this proximity. Perhaps one day when you're better," He reassured her as he turned his whole attention towards her, moving himself to face her as she slowly glanced up to him with her dark eyes, making Julian's cheeks burn slightly – but he quickly shook off this feeling. He took her hands in his own gloved ones. "All will be well, Dove. Do not be frightened." He spoke in a soft voice as she lightly nodded her head, clearly not quite believing him but taking his word anyway.

"Tomorrow I am going to the market in the morning to leave off these medicines. Since I can walk around with no mask there, and since you can walk, perhaps you should join me and you will be able to see the city and myself without a mask, but, you will need to wear a cloak and keep your head down. I'm sure word has spread that you have this disease and if you're seen you will simply be carted off by city guards to the plague house and I will not be able to help you, do you understand?" He proposed to her, and with a gentle nod and smile, Dove agreed.

"Thank you Doctor Devorak," She said in her soft tone as she leaned forwards and kissed the tip of his mask's beak, making him once again flush with colour – he was glad she couldn't see him. "Thank you."


	3. Chapter 3 - In Hiding

_**janusscientes** **\- Here you are my dear 3 Thank you for leaving a comment!**_

By dawn, Dove and Julian had already awoken to meet the rising sun, the two ready to go to the market, Julian taking his potions as he threw a large black cloak around Dove to cover her from peoples view, putting gloves onto her hands too so she may touch things and not spread her disease. Dove pulled the large hood of her cloak up and over her face, a dark shadow being cast all down her delicate features – it was suspicious looking no question, but most people tried to hide themselves during times of sickness so Julian hoped it wouldn't cause a stir. As Julian opened the front door and stood outside, he reached up to held Dove down the few small steps before he reached for the mask on his face taking it off slowly to reveal himself to Dove as he shut his front door gently. Dove's eyes opened wide at his face. He was undoubtable handsome, more so than the stories she'd heard of the mysterious doctor, this making her once more bow her head with a smile.

"There," Julian said happily. "Perhaps now you won't be as frightened of me now with the mask on. So, there are some rules, keep by me but if a guard is near go look at a nearby stall in sight of me so it doesn't look like I'm with you in case something happens. Now, come – there are things we must do." Julian took off a good few steps in front of Dove, her steps small as she tried to keep herself as steady as she could as to not cause any form of upset. People passed her by naturally, not taking any notice to her as the Doctor kept stopping every few minutes to talk to someone new, people seemed to stand to talk to him when he walked by, he was clearly popular to the public, and before Dove could even realize due to mostly daydreaming during her walk they arrived in the main market place. People bustled around the small plaza absentmindedly, vendors and buyers alike speaking loudly and struggling to get through the large crowds. Dove stopped to look at a stall that sold flowers and she recognized many of them for potions and such, smiling down as she picked up the flowers in her gloved hands gently to study them before putting them back again as she had given all her coins to Julian, who with a glance, she'd realized she'd lost in the crowd.

"Damn." She said in a soft tone as she moved back into the crowd trying to find him, scanning around the market quickly before she accepted that she had truly lost him in the hysterics of the day – it was just her luck. Regardless although, she kept making her way through the crowds happily, stopping every few stalls to talk to vendors and to look at what they had to sell and she noticed very quickly that mostly every stall sold things that could be used for alchemy – she assumed it was because of the plague. Due to living outside the city most of her life she had no clue how wide spread it had become over the years. Stopping at a stall that had tall glass jars with large black leeches inside she tapped on the glass lightly as the creatures floated as if dead, it was disgusting to her but even so, she glanced up to the vendor who had their arms crossed over them, smiling with a raised brow.

"Pardon me but what procedures are these used for?" Dove asked in a soft tone as she stood straight once more as the man before her made a 'heh' noise.

"Blood lettin', ma'am," He stated. "Most of these are bought by doctors to be taken to the plague house to try to let the disease out of people by draining blood, but most of these shipments go to the island." He said as he shrugged casually as Dove brought a hand to her face in curiosity.

"Island?" She questioned as the man squinted at her as if he thought she was joking.

"Haven't you heard of it ma'am? It's where they take people with the plague to die, and that's where they are all burned."

Dove stood back in horror, her hands over her mouth in dismay as her eyes went wide, tears pooling as she imagined what the man had said to her. Would that be her fate? To be burned as everyone else, to be nothing more than something that had to be cleansed from the world? Her horror quickly overwhelmed her, a pressure in her chest causing her to start coughing loudly in her panic attack like state, this drawing great deals of attention to her, and before she even realized, blood was running down her face from her eyes like tears, people surrounding her screaming in horror as she looked around to everyone, people dragging their children away from the scene and shouting at others to flee.

"Plague victim! Plague!" The man who stood behind the stall she'd been talking to shouted out, Dove struggling to get the words 'no, please' out as royal guards pushed their way through the masses to get to Dove, rushing her and grasping her arms just as Julian pushed through the crowds with a horrified expression. He stared for a moment before he too rushed towards Dove.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," He shouted at the guards. "Do step back from the infected, get back – Back I say!" He exclaimed to them as they quickly did as the doctor said as he gripped onto Dove's arm and began to drag her through the crowds, as soon as he could no longer see the guards quickly picking her up into his arms and sprinting through the streets with her as people watched wide eyed. He knew he should've never lost sight of her, and with a glance down to her he noticed she was completely unconscious in his arms once more.

Pushing his way through his front door he quickly put her back down on that same table from the first night, throwing his gloves off across the room to feel her pulse. It was dull, but it was still there – he was, for the first time, very unsure of what to do. He couldn't feed her medicine whilst asleep in the fear that she might choke, he couldn't even shake her away she was very clearly gone in her own mind as her eyes lay shut. He was about to try to get her water to maybe help her rouse when he heard loud knocks on his front door making him curse under his breath.

"Royal Guard! Open up!" He heard from the other side setting him into a panic like he'd never felt before – he had to hide Dove. He scanned around his tiny house for somewhere, anywhere he could stash her, and then his eyes fell on a large pot in the corner, one where he kept many writings. He quickly picked her up once more and prayed that her frail body would fit into it, and as easy as could be, she slid in gently, her knees to her face as her head bowed forwards in her unconscious state. Making a makeshift lid out of a cloth he moved to the door, regaining his composure as he opened to the same guards from the market.

"Pardon us Doctor Devorak, but we need to search your house for that woman, is that alright?" One of the larger guards asked in a gruff tone and Julian smiled happily, stepping aside for them to have their look around, his eyes constantly flipping to them then to the pot in the corner – he could only hope she wouldn't wake up for the time being. The guards looked in every space where Julian could've hid her. Behind his book shelf, in his bedroom, but suddenly to his horror one of the guards went to lift the cloth to the pot.

"Gentlemen! Pardon me," He said catching their attention, making them turn his way. "I do believe I just saw that woman running, perhaps with a terrible limp but running north," He moved closer to his open door to more so give the illusion making the two guards look to each other and nod before they too moved for the front door.

"Sorry for that Doctor, just had to make sure, thank you sir." They said with another nod before they too took off running north, Julian taking a moment to stand in the doorway casually before turning and slamming the door before quickly moving to the pot and reaching in, taking Dove out as she fell completely limp in his arms, quickly taking her to the bedroom and setting her down, covering her in blankets as blood was dried on her cheeks like tears, a mournful expression on her face as she lay still. He watched her for a moment to make sure that indeed she was still breathing, he had no idea what putting her in a small cold space like that could've done to her condition and as he stood once more he screamed in pure frustration taking his plague mask from a nearby shelf and throwing it across the room, the red glass shattering everywhere as he collapsed down to his knees just by Dove.

For hours Julian sat with her like that, his head in his hands as he reflected over the day – how could he have been so foolish? How could he be this bad of a doctor? Nightfall fell over the city like a blanket of sadness for Julian, the light from a candle he had lit in the bedroom giving a soft glow onto Dove's rosy skin. He knew, he always had known, that he couldn't cure Dove, and today showed him at that, and even more so, her charm convinced him that taking her outside would be a good idea – he was ashamed of himself. The thought of her being burned on plague island tore him apart, and he knew that those guards would come back when they couldn't find her – he wanted her life to end on his terms.

Slowly he moved closer to her, straddling her as he brought his shaking hands down to her throat. It was small and delicate, he understood he could easily crush her with enough force, and with a deep breath he began to choke the unconscious girl. His whole world spun around him almost as if he was going to fall unconscious himself, his shaking hands struggling to keep even pressure on her neck, but almost as if fate, Dove suddenly began to rouse. Her eyes opened wide in horror as she began to kick her legs in a struggle as she attempted to scream through her gasps for air. Julian's grip slowly loosened as he suddenly fell back from Dove who quickly scrambled to her feet, her hands gripped over her mouth in horror, holding back a scream.

"J-Julian! Y-You…You tried to-…" She couldn't even finish her sentence before she grasped her cloak from earlier in the day and jumped out the window in the bedroom to the street where she quickly fled out of sight. Julian sat for a moment stunned, as if he had to take a minute to realize if he'd truly done it, looking to his trembling hands for a second before he quickly stood, staring out the window.

"Dove!" He cried out as he too jumped out the window into the night air, going in the direction she had gone with his eyes frantically scanning the streets – but he came to realize the only way she could've gone was towards the harbor, and within minutes, he saw the figure of Dove with her hood down staring out into the darkness at the edge of the dock. With a creak of a piece of wood of the pier, Dove whipping around in horror to see Julian, her eyes wide and wild as if she was looking at a ghost.

"So, is that it then?!" She screamed at him, the loudest he'd heard her speak, her voice not raising above just a whisper before making him step back. "Am I to burned like the others, was this a last glimpse of my life today? Why didn't you tell me that that's where I am destined to go if I don't get well?!" She yelled as she marched up to him, slamming her fists against his chest as she shouted before she began to break down, sobbing into his chest as he tried to put his arms around her.

"Dove, you must understand that-"

"Don't touch me! Please…" She snapped as she slapped his hands away, turning her back on him as she looked out in the darkness in the direction of the island where smoke was rising from. "Have you been there, doctor? What horrors did you see? Will those horrors be me?" She said more rhetorically as she turned to look at him, tears running down her already stained face.

"I told your father I will get you well, I promised him and I have promised you." Julian said in a strong voice as he felt his sins crawling up his back.

"How can I possibly believe that you will-"

Julian suddenly pulled Dove into a tight embrace, leaning right over as he was right into her space.

"In this proximity, for this amount of time, I too should now be infected. We will get better together, we are now in this together, Dove." He said in a soft voice to her as her arms slowly wrapped around him also, a sob escaping her as guilt now began to crawl onto her, the thought of infecting a prestigious doctor as himself a terrifying thought.

"Know this Dove, you will get well if it is the last thing I do."


End file.
